Defenders of the state casino law will release a new television ad Saturday, highlighting the money Massachusetts gamblers spend in out-of-state casinos, according to a copy of the ad shared with the Globe.
“We’re creating jobs and revenue for Connecticut and Rhode Island, but not for ourselves,” says the ad’s narrator, Paul Guzzi, president of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “We need to create jobs here.”
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The argument is a staple among the political talking points of casino supporters. Massachusetts residents gamble in large numbers at Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos in Connecticut. Twin River casino in Lincoln, R.I., gets about half its revenue from Bay State residents.
The new ad is the third in a series of television spots from the casino-backed Coalition to Protect Mass Jobs, which opposes a casino repeal measure on the November ballot.
The repeal, Question 3, is backed by casino opponents who say gambling resorts and a slot machine parlor would increase crime, gambling addiction, and other social problems. If passed, the measure would ban the casino industry from the state, three years after Massachusetts lawmakers legalized Las Vegas-style casino gambling.
Guzzi said he agreed to narrate the ad because the text is supported by research the chamber did on casinos in 2008, three years before casinos were legalized in Massachusetts.
“I believe the arguments we made then are true now,” he said.
Guzzi said he completed his part of the ad in “maybe three takes.”
The coalition is primarily funded by organized labor and casino companies. Penn National Gaming and MGM Resorts have provided millions to finance the group. Wynn Resorts, which won the Greater Boston resort casino license last month, said last week that it would join the effort.
In February, Penn won the state’s slot parlor license, and has started construction at Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville.
MGM has been promised the resort casino license for Western Massachusetts, for a project in Springfield.
The coalition declined to say how much it is spending on the ad.
Mark Arsenault can be reached at mark.arsenault@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @bostonglobemark.